Chapter One: Summon the Heroes
Mario lay on his back in his own front yard, watching the clouds pass over his house. He smiled as he felt a cool breeze tickle his mustache, and he calmly picked a blade of grass and rolled it around with his fingers. Yet he could not fully enjoy the peaceful atmosphere that surrounded him. It had been quite some time since Bowser had attempted any of his old tricks, so he knew he had to be constantly on the alert. Reminding himself of his responsibility, Mario quickly glanced back at the sky. This time, however, he did notice something.
At first it appeared to be a giant bird of some kind. Mario squinted his eyes and stood, trying to get a better view. It was then that he realized what it was: Bowser's Clown Car. Mario rubbed his eyes once just to make sure, and with that confirmation he sprinted for the nearest warp pipe. Just before he came to the pipe, he glanced back at the sky, but realized something odd
Strangely enough, Bowser was seemingly heading in the complete opposite direction of Peach's Castle. In fact, Mario noticed, Bowser appeared to be heading out of the Mushroom Kingdom itself. At this, Mario paused. Taking the pipe to Peach's Castle would make no sense, yet he was sure Bowser was up to no good. As Mario sat there, mulling his choices, a familiar face emerged from the pipe.
"Mario!" Luigi exclaimed, out of breath. "We've got a problem."
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As Link cut through the overgrowth of plant life that seemingly grew everywhere in his humble village of the Kokiri, he noticed a rider off in the distance, charging him on horseback at full speed. Readying himself for the attack, Link narrowed his eyebrows and brought his sword to his side. However, as the rider came closer it became clear that he bore the colors of Hyrule and not of the troublesome Gerudo. Link relaxed his grip and shouted a greeting.
"Why so fast, friend?" Link asked. "I mean you no harm."
"Hero of Time!" the rider cried out quickly. "The King requests you at once! There's been a big problem."
Link narrowed his eyebrows once again. "What kind of problem?" he asked tentatively.
"The worst kind," the rider responded simply.
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Marth and Roy stood at the top of a cliff on their personal estate. The cliff overlooked a nearby ocean and seemed to jut out like a dagger into the sea. The skies were clear and the sun beat down on their faces. The two youths readied their swords and, with a bow of their heads, began circling each other.
"I won't be so easy this time, old friend," Marth said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Ha! If I remember correctly," Roy said with a cocky tone, "I won the last four contests!"
"Well this time," Marth declared, "You're luck has run out!" With that, Marth charged at Roy, who leaped to the side and instantly dodged the oncoming attack. "Too easy," Roy said to himself, kicking Marth in the side. Marth rolled to his left and performed a sweep kick, which knocked Roy to the ground. Shocked, Roy was vulnerable for moment, but Marth failed to capitalize. Roy quickly leaped to his feet, and the two clashed swords. Marth swiped at Roy's left side, but his oncoming attack was blocked. Roy took this opportunity to slash at Marth's left hand, leaving a small cut on his wrist. Marth winced, but continued jabbing at Roy until, at last, Roy knocked his sword from his hands.
"Too easy," Roy said again, pointing his sword at his defeated friend. "Come, Marth. Let's get that hand bandaged up."
As they began to walk down the pathway back to their estate, a fellow warrior came sprinting up the stairs.
"What's the hurry, man?" Roy asked. "Are we late for our meal again?"
"Worse!" declared the out-of-breath warrior. "Much worse. You have been summoned…" he panted, "by the League of Heroes."
"The League of what?" Marth asked, still holding his injured wrist.
"I shall explain on the way," he said. "But now we must ride. To the stables! And quickly!"
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Similar events occurred all over the galaxy, with the greatest heroes of all the lands being summoned by their respective authority figures. In a matter of days, everyone was shipped to the Senate floor on the planet of Corneria to be briefed in an emergency meeting.
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"Order! There will be order in this council!" Fox screamed at the top of his lungs, banging his gavel on his desk violently. He stood behind a giant podium at the center of a mammoth room. Seated all around him were the greatest heroes Nintendo has to offer: Mario, Link, Donkey Kong, Pikachu, Kirby… everyone was there. As soon as Fox had finished his outburst, the delegates fell silent and gave him their full respect.
"I have called you all together," Fox began, "because I have discovered a terrible thing. My informants and high-tech radar equipment have brought grave news over the past few days. It appears," he paused dramatically, "that the greatest villains of our time have formed an alliance!" At this, there was much commotion throughout the building, and Fox again pounded the gavel into his podium. "Order! Now!" he commanded. When the room was at last silent, he continued.
"Can you imagine what this means? Bowser and Ganondorf combining powers! Andross and Mewtwo, side by side! King Dedede and Mother Brain joining forces! I have already heard reports of them plotting their conquest over a number of intriguing targets, including Toad Town, Corneria, Castle Town in Hyrule, and Saffron City, to name just a few. The power these villains would have," he paused again, "would be wholly unbeatable.
"That is, unless," he continued, "we join together! We have assembled here a power greater than any other power in history. Together we, the greatest and strongest of our time, can overcome the threat that looms on the horizon. Only together can we defeat the evils that jeopardize our very way of life. It is our duty," he thundered, "yes, our duty to our nations, our families, and our people to keep them as far from harm as we can. With this alliance of villains," he said sadly, "the security of all has been put at risk. This is why I have called you here together! We must form an alliance of our own. A League of Heroes, if you will. Our mission statement: to preserve peace across the galaxy. And peace can only be achieved when we are certain that the truly dangerous are eradicated from society.
"The villains have apparently gathered at Ganondorf's hideout in the deserts of Hyrule. But we cannot attack until we have a united front. So I must know, once and for all," Fox said, standing tall, emphasizing each of the next four words: "Are you with me?"
Thunderous applause shook the entire building and Fox proudly stood and raised both hands to about eye level, soaking in his diplomatic victory. He could not help but smile, and, with the reception being as powerful as it was, he even felt his eyes water a bit. Signaling for the crowd to silence themselves, Fox made his closing remarks.
"All right. Then we have a great task on our hands. General Pepper will brief you on how best to assault Ganongorf's fortress. Ladies and gentleman," he said, "the game is on."